Mets la main à la pâte!(YEASTED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE) My first at Daring Bakers!

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For the past few days, ever since India beat Australia in the Quarter Finals World Cup Match cricket has been the talk of the town. From Facebook updates to my college chain mails to newspaper articles- wherever you go – the India Pakistan match is the topic of conversation. I can only imagine the excitement in my hometown Mohali, where the match is being played today. The advertisers, airlines, hotels, all are cashing in on the much anticipated match. Jokes on Afridi and his men are doing the rounds among Indians on social networking sites while the Pakistinis are doing the same on their pages for the team in blue. The mind games have begun on both sides. After long I have been excited about a match- I think there is something about playing Pakistan that triggers every Indian’s blood and the do or die spirit takes over. Defeating Pakistan is for most Indians like winning the world cup. Every Indian today is praying that India wins- I have no more nails left to bite!

Putting the excitement aside for a while, I completed my first Daring Bakers challenge, although a little late! *Victory clasp!*

The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

Jamie found this recipe on a piece of yellowed paper in her dad’s collection of clipped out and hand-written recipes from the 1970’s, no source, no date, and she tried the recipe and it was brilliant!

This entry was supposed to be posted on the 27th but since I was busy packing, travelling, shopping, packing again and more travelling, only now I got the time to bake for the challenge. I enjoyed myself thoroughly in this challenge. The recipe yields two cakes and thought I would do one savory version and one sweet.

While the sweet dough kneaded to form a sexy (as Ria and Jamie put it)!, elastic and smooth dough, I had a tough time with the savory dough- I just could not get the elasticity called for in the dough. I used the bread maker’s dough cycle, then used my own muscle strength and boy how I used them! I’m sure tomorrow I’ll have sore muscles- yes I had to knead THAT much!

I also had trouble with the dough rising. It took longer than usual and did not rise as much as I hoped it would. One mistake I did with the sweet dough, which could be a reason for the not rising problem is that when heating the milk with water and butter- the milk almost boiled and it was still quite hot when I poured it in the flour mixture. But, that still does not explain why the savory dough did not rise. Maybe the yeast?! Hmmm…..Anyways the dough eventually did rise.

In the savory version I thought of putting cheddar cheese and have mentioned so in the recipe but when I got to rolling of the dough I realised that I had no grated cheese on hand. Pressed for time as the match had started (the long rising time changed my whole schedule- I was supposed to have been done with baking by the time the match was to start), I put parmesan cheese- but would still recommend the cheddar cheese.

I decorated the savory yeasted cakes by painting on it using a coffee-yolk mixture. (To see how to paint on your bread check this out!) For  painting I did not have a brush. I used an unused lipstick brush from my kit. Of course I washed it thoroughly. The things I do for baking!

The oven still gave me problems while baking- it does not heat evenly. So I had to make sure that I keep shifting the trays. It also took me longer than the stated time to bake the yeasted cakes as they were not getting brown from the top-nor was the hollow sound coming. As a result the sweet yeasted cake got burned from the bottom. I miss my own oven!!:(

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GARLIC & HERB ROLLS

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I decided to make some rolls day before. My dad loves home made bread and after I made some spinach bread a few days back for him, I thought I’ll treat my dad some more and make some garlic and herb rolls.

I have tried several recipes of garlic bread but somehow all fail when it comes to the garlic flavor. One bite and I question whether I added any garlic or not. But, not with this one! Not only did I up the amount of garlic in the bread, but with this cool basting trick I found at Annie’s Eats, while figuring out how to make knotted rolls, you would be sure you are eating a garlic flavored bread.

Annie also has step-by-step illustrated instructions on how to make the knotted rolls. In case you would like to shape them like knots do check her post.

Fresh out of the oven, with some butter slathered on- these make a fantastic eat!

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REALLY,REALLY HEARTY SUNDRIED TOMATO BREAD

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Two days prior to my India journey, I am down with a cough! Great! I took precautions- covered myself- head to toe- but the Denver cold got to me. Its the walk we took near the Cherry Creek Mall that’s the culprit. Well, it’s not that bad yet. That’s the key word- yet! The last time I got down with a bad cold- it started out as not being that bad- just a sore throat- nothing big. The starting symptoms are the same this time, but hopefully it won’t get any worse- there’s a slight fever but I’m hoping some rest will take care of it!

The first day in Denver, we had amazing bread at the hotel restaurant, The Lift, while waiting for our main course. It was a white bread with a hint of garlic and presumably, a lot of parmesan cheese. But one bite into it and you could taste the cheese and all its goodness. I love white bread and even though whole-wheat is supposedly more healthy, etc etc I still miss an all white bread at times.

But, the other day, back at home I made this really hearty and flavorful sundried tomato bread. I cooked up this recipe or would it be baked up (?!). Thought of adding herbs but decided against it, since I did not want too many flavors playing in the bread. I also restrained myself from adding cheese- though instead its better to grill it with cheese instead. I did add dill for some added flavor.

By the way, this bread is full of goodies for your body! The Wheat germ is rich in nutrients, Vitamin E (good for anti-aging and your reproductive organs) and fiber. Fiber helps in digestive cleansing, cleaning your system off toxins and bacteria. Another benefit of having fiber-enriched food is that you feel full sooner- that ways you don’t overeat. (and thus, helps you in keeping your waist slim!)

Flaxseeds too are rich in fiber, besides they are a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids which are good for lowering cholesterol and heart related diseases. They are rich in antioxidants too.

Besides the seeds, the flours used also have their health benefits. Everyone knows the benefits of whole-wheat flour.  Soy Flour is a great source of high quality soy protein, dietary fiber and important bio-active components which provide a good source of iron, B vitamins and potassium.

I wanted to add 1/2 cup rolled oats, and make it even more healthy, but I had the quick one minutes ones (never buying them again after reading they have the hulls removed), and wasn’st sure how they will work and also did not know how healthy they would be after the hull is removed. (Any info would be appreciated for the uninitiated me!) If you do decide to add oats reduce the bread flour quantity by the same amount and you might need to add/reduce water.

I did add a tablespoon more of water even though it did not look dry, but I know that soy absorbs a lot of water so the dough might need that extra tbsp- when making bread, its always better to err on more water and have a sticky dough than to have a dry dough. But, I ended up adding more flour, so guess the earlier proportions might have been perfect. (Have mentioned the initial proportions in the ingredients list- but if more water is required, add a tablespoon at a time).

Hope you enjoy this bread and its benefits as much as we did!

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